What is British Israelism and is it biblical?

British Israelism, also known as Anglo-Israelism, is the belief that the “lost ten tribes” of Israel migrated to Europe and then to England and became the primary ancestors of the British people and, thereby, the United States. British Israelism was made popular by the Worldwide Church of God and Herbert Armstrong, but other groups have held the doctrine as well.

Is British Israelism true and biblical? In order to determine this, we need to examine the two primary claims: (1) The ten tribes were lost, and (2) the ten tribes migrated to England.

(1) 2 Kings 17:18 states that Israel was deported to Assyria in 722 B.C. After this time, mention of the ten northern tribes (Israel) is rare in Scripture. However, other Scriptures (and historical records) indicate that some of the people of the northern ten tribes remained in the land. Second Chronicles 35:18 records Israel celebrating the Passover with Judah approximately 90 years after the Assyrian deportation. It is likely that many people of the northern ten tribes fled to Judah to escape the Assyrians, and even more fled to the safety of Judah after the Assyrians had ransacked Israel. Second Chronicles 15:9 records people from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon settling in Judah long before the Assyrian invasion. In the New Testament, the prophetess Anna is said to be from the tribe of Asher (Luke 2:36), one of the supposed ten lost tribes. So, yes, many people from the northern ten tribes were deported to Assyria, never to be mentioned again. At the same time, there is sufficient evidence in Scripture to prove that the ten tribes were not lost, but rather rejoined with Judah in the south. It is likely that when Judah was deported by the Babylonians, the people would have sought out the Israelites in Assyria (very near Babylon) and joined with them. In the returns to Israel recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah, the Scriptures nowhere limit the returnees as being entirely from the tribe of Judah.

(2) Is it possible that some of the deported Israelites emigrated to Europe, even England? Yes. It is likely? No. A journey from Assyria to England would have been exceedingly difficult in ancient times, especially for a large number of people. Geographically speaking, Afghan-Israelism and even Japanese-Israelism have a greater possibility of truth. Further, why would Assyria, or later Babylon, or later Persia allow the Israelites to migrate outside of their territories? Further, if the Israelites had the ability to migrate, why would they travel to Europe / England instead of back to their ancestral homeland? So, while it is possible that some Israelites migrated to Europe / England, it is highly unlikely that this occurred to any significant degree.

The primary goal behind British Israelism is to claim that England and the United States have inherited the covenant promises God made to Israel. While England and the United States have been blessed by God in many ways, it is not because God’s promises to Israel have been transferred to those two nations. God’s covenants with Israel always involved the specific land of Israel. Abraham’s descendants would inherit the land. The blessings of God to Israel were always in connection with the specific land that was promised. These promises, therefore, cannot apply to England or the United States, as those two nations do not possess the promised land. Further, while a significant number of Americans have English heritage, there are far more American immigrants from other nations combined than from England.

British Israelism (and other forms of Israelism) should be rejected because it does not have a solid basis biblically or historically.

5 Comments:

Fascinating Michael. I actually know people who subscribe to this theory, one fellow lives down the road from me and I discovered it one day working the community to witness. He also believes some other things about law keeping and such, Saturday Sabbath, etc. Not sure if there is a relationship there, as it seemed an odd link. The other guy is actually my boss LOL.

Am I mistaken in thinking that this ideology is wrapped up with certain white supremacy movements? Seems I have heard or read that, and it seems believing this would tie in with that particular belief system.

I was actually given a book about this to read, and it was tied in with phonecians, all sorts of odd symbols, and many things that frankly confused me. None of it seemed to actually come from the Bible really.

It is interesting that you not only have encountered individuals of this belief system; but that you are neighbors.

Yes, you are quite right in your assumption of the “Christian Identity Movement(s)” of Kinism, British Israelism, Kl Klux Klan and others are wrapped in “white supremacy” organization. Although the KKK has made significant changes in it’s belief systems and acknowledgment of others, it still makes the list of cults.

As you and I both are aware; Gentiles (as we are) were never under the law. The Law was for Jews (Hebrews) alone. Jesus taught inclusion of all nations and nationalities. Although if we use the ‘Gregorian calendar as our measuring stick Saturday would be our “Day of Rest” or the Seventh Day. I do not believe, however, God really cares on what day we take our rest as long as we do. Setting aside all aspects of work and other non-worship to engage ourselves with Him alone.

Phoenicians were believed to be the orchestrators of the alphabet. There may be some biblical veracity supporting this view. Archeological discoveries continue to shed light on the mystery of the origin of the alphabet. The earliest form of written language is thought to originate from the Semitic countries. The word Semitic comes from the name Shem, named in Genesis (6:10) as the son of Noah, whose descendants lived in the Middle East. While pieces of the puzzle have yet to fall in place, there appears to be an evolution of the alphabet through the ages. It is believed that languages spread through trade, conquering tribes, and migration. For example, the Patriarch Abraham with God’s blessing migrated from the land of Ur of the Chaldees (Genesis 11:31) and built an altar to the Lord at Shechem in Canaan (Genesis 12:7). He purchased land at Hebron in Canaan to bury his wife Sara (Genesis 23:16), and was later buried next to his wife in Hebron by his sons Isaac and Ishmael (Genesis 25:9).

The two earliest forms of writing were the cuneiform script of the city-states (Uruk and Ur) of Sumer in Mesopotamia, and the hieroglyphs of Egypt. The cuneiform or wedge-shaped script of the ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia is dated circa 3200 BC. Cuneiform script was inscribed into wet clay which hardened into tablets. The hieroglyphic script of Egypt is dated circa 3000 BC, and is largely pictorial in nature with over 2000 symbols written on papyrus. Hieratic was a cursive form of hieroglyphics developed about the same time for priestly writings. And, we should be thankful to those who brought us an alphabet so that both the bible and history can be recorded. To that end we owe the Phoenicians a great deal.

Forgive me, Wally, for my delay in responding. The holiday had kept me quite busy. I trust you and yours had a memorable Memorial Day weekend.

May the God of /Abraham, Isaac and Jacob bless and keep you and yours always.

No worries Michael, I hope you had a great holiday as well. And thank you for all of that information, as now I have more things to study, and being pointed to something to follow up on is always a blessing so thanks my friend.